


One Man's Trash

by Infinimay, logicsix (r3voluti0ns)



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series), g/t - Fandom
Genre: Android AU, Dehumanization, G/T, Gen, Giant/Tiny, Human!Remus, Injury, M/M, Mild Language, Sympathetic Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders, Sympathetic Dark Sides (Sanders Sides), Sympathetic Deceit | Janus Sanders, Teasing, human!roman, tiny!Janus, tiny!logan
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-30
Updated: 2020-07-08
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:47:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,055
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24991780
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Infinimay/pseuds/Infinimay, https://archiveofourown.org/users/r3voluti0ns/pseuds/logicsix
Summary: Logan, a miniature android separated from his owner, is found by two humans. He just wants to go home, frankly, and it seems like Virgil has made it his own personal mission to be as annoying as possible along the way.
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Logic | Logan Sanders, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders/Morality | Patton Sanders, Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders/Deceit | Janus Sanders
Comments: 8
Kudos: 64





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Warning: There's some pretty heavy dehumanization, mostly because androids are bought and sold like iPhones.

**[Rebooting … ]**

**[Optics— Functional]**

**[Auditory Sensors— Functional]**

**[ System Diagnostic— Memory: Failed. Cooling Protocol: Failed. Severe Biocomponent Damage. Repairs required.]**

Shit.

Logan slowly exited his ‘sleep’ mode, blinking as he refocused his eyes. He sat up and looked down at what remained of his hands apathetically. His right was completely functional, though the synthetic skin was slightly damaged. In contrast, the left was a tangled mess of ‘organic’ pieces and wires. Luckily, his damage receptors seemed to be broken, saving him from the programmed pain response.

_01010111 01101000 01100101 01110010 01100101 00100000 01101001 01110011 00100000 01101000 01100101_

_nononoIfailedwhereisheI’llbeshutdownthomasIneedthomashelp-_

**Critical condition. Rebooting.**

**[Running Diagnost—**

Logan rebooted with a soft gasp, but this time, he wasn’t in any immediate danger. The pocket android sat up slowly, looking around warily- only to find himself sitting on a table, in the garage of a human home… But it wasn’t _his_ human’s home. _What had happened?_ Just as the Android began to stand and investigate, the door leading to the house opened. 

Logan hurriedly laid down again, shutting his eyes as tightly as possible. His thermal scanners activated, sensing the presence of two humans; a fact that was confirmed as they began to speak.

“So, where exactly did you find it again?” 

The Android stayed completely still, but he was deeply bothered by that. He was technically an ‘it,’ yes, but humans usually had more tact than that… Or, at the very least, _his_ human had more tact.

“I dunno, I was just walking home from work, and I saw it on the sidewalk. Thing’s so tiny, I almost missed it…”

“Well, it’s a good thing you saw it. If it’s in decent enough shape, you might be able to sell it to an android store, or just online.”

“Yeah, maybe. I mean, whoever bought it probably just trashed it or something… maybe if you take it apart you can find a serial code? And we can check with the store, see how much it’s worth.”

Literal alarms lit up in the corner of Logan’s vision: _deactivation imminent. Prime directive adjusted- find Thomas._

“Maybe… Oh, yikes. Yeah, it’s pretty broken. I mean, like, just trashing it and getting a new one might be cheaper than repairing it, to be honest. I don’t think there’s much of a profit, here… Maybe you could sell it for parts.”

The humans were standing over him, now, and one of them suddenly reached out. The Android was careful to remain limp as he was scooped up, but his thermal imaging was quickly overwhelmed by a dizzying miasma of red and yellow. All he could do was try to remain still as the conversation carried on over his head.

“I dunno, I feel kind of bad… It looks too human to just, I don’t know, trash it.”

“Well, if you take it apart _first_ , it won’t look human anymore-”

“Remus, don’t be gross.”

The touch receptors on Logan’s back flared to life, and there was an ominous **click** as the human slid up his back panel- revealing the reset button on his back. Logan gasped and suddenly snapped up into a sitting position, fighting back against Remus’s grip. _“Wai- w- wait, don’t! Do- d- d- don’t reset me, n- n- n- need to- to-”_

The man’s grip faltered at the sudden protest from the once unresponsive android, and Logan’s stabilization systems caused him to throw his arms out at the abrupt shift. He scrambled for purchase on the uneven surface, and immediately reached back to slam the panel shut- just as Remus’s grip tightened once again.

The other human blinked, leaning closer to inspect the Android, and asked, “Uh, is his voice _supposed_ to sound like that? It’s like… glitchy.”

Logan shook as his system’s controls rapidly adjusted, but he was cognizant enough to stiffen as Remus put a large finger under his chin, forcing him to look up. His eyes widened as he was held in place, the alerts flashing red in the corner of his vision once again.

“It doesn’t _look_ like his throat was damaged… it might be something internal with his voice box, or just a problem with his program. Again, I can show you how to reset him-”

 _“D- d- d- don’t!”_ Logan protested, vehemently shaking his head. His mangled left hand was suddenly being pinched between two of the human’s fingers, and he weakly tried to pull it away. _“Need t- t- t- to finish my pri- pri- prime directive!”_

Remus rolled his eyes, and a twinge of rude words flashed across Logan’s internal processor before the strange impulse was quelled. “Yeah, sometimes they get like this. It usually just means that they’re broken, so I wouldn’t worry too much about it- if a direct order won’t keep him still, then it won’t be hard to just hold him down to reset him.”

The Android stopped struggling as he realized what his only option was- he _needed_ to gain the sympathy of the human that had found him. He looked up at the man with wide eyes, and desperately begged, _“Pl- please, don’t. I- I understand why you want to, and I can’t- I can’t s- st- stop you, but… I n- n- need to do this. It is of t- the utmost im- im- importance.”_

The other human’s nose wrinkled, and for a terrible moment, Logan desperately tried to invent another strategy to save himself- but it wasn’t necessary. The man nodded, and said nonchalantly, “Alright, whatever. I’ll try to figure out his prime directive stuff, but if it gets bad, I’ll call you. Deal?”

The human holding Logan snorted, and the Android was neatly deposited back onto the table. As he scrambled to get a better view of the two, Remus said, “Yeah, that works. I can order the parts you’ll need to fix him, too, if you want. These little guys aren’t really _that_ useful, but I like ‘em. Hey, maybe I can pick up one of those scrapped models for myself! They could be friends!”

“Pfft- nobody should leave _you_ unattended with a pocket android,” the other human retorted, rolling his eyes. There was a fond smile tugging at his lips, though, and Logan was suddenly aware of the fact that he was lucky to not have been found by someone like Remus.

“You’re _hilarious_ ,” Remus said sarcastically, a lazy smile tugging at his lips. “Alright, I gotta get going, but I’ll see you this weekend, right? And seriously, you better not ditch me again, man-”

“I won’t, I won’t!” Logan’s human laughed, shaking his head. “And you know it wasn’t like that, I just had a lot to do that week. It’s not like I stood you up, I told you a few days before-”

“You _abandoned_ me!” Remus argued as he left the room, flipping the other human off before he left. “I’m going, I’m going- later, _Vee-Vee_!”

“Asshole…” The human- Vee-Vee, as Logan now knew- muttered. Before the Android could say anything, he reached down and grabbed Logan, holding him up to his face with an inquisitive frown.

“So, what do people get you guys _for_ , again? I don’t really see the appeal. I mean, I guess you’re like a faster calculator, but that’s not _that_ impressive.” As he spoke, he turned Logan over in his hands, gently fiddling with and tugging at the Android’s limbs.

Logan stiffened, and curled in on himself slightly, noting that the man’s eyes scrutinized him intensely- as if he was about to be disassembled, and it was only a matter of which limb to begin with. The idea made Logan’s servos lock up, but he spoke calmly. _“Humans use miniature models, such as myself, for a variety of p- p- purposes. These purposes can include quick calculations, but conversation and smoother fin- financial transactions are also favored reasons for purchase, as well a- a- as personal time management and daily reminders for a variety of customizable options.”_

The human stopped his prodding, and let out a quiet, not-quite-satisfied hum. He finally said, “Whatever, I guess… I’m Virgil, by the way. You have a name, or do you go by a serial number or something?”

 _“I am a L08-4N model, but my o- o- owner, T- Thomas, refers to me as Logan,”_ the Android reported, though he deliberately didn’t address the fact that he needed to go _back_ to his owner. He assumed that Virgil could figure that out, himself.

“Huh,” Virgil said, nodding as he looked over Logan once more. “Well, I’m glad that I don’t have to give you a name. Anyways, what’s this ‘prime directive’ stuff you’ve been talking about?”

_“My prime directive dictates that I be returned to my owner, as my absence is probably quite distressing for him. If you give me s- s- some time to access my secondary memory, I can provide you with h- h- his address. It can’t be very f- f- far from where I was found-”_

“Yeah, yeah, and how long do you think this is gonna take? I don’t want to waste that much of my time running around to return someone’s lost _gadget_ ,” Virgil asked, absentmindedly shifting the tiny android to his other hand.

Logan stayed as stiff as a circuit board in the human’s grip, his damaged sensors making each minute movement uncomfortably intense. He wanted badly to just be home already, and _out_ of this stranger’s hands- this stranger that had just called him a _gadget_. _“I play an integral role in my owner’s psy- psy- psychological and physical care… A reward for haste in my return would not be outside of the realm of possibility, if that would interest you.”_

“Huh… well, I like rewards, I guess, and I don’t really have anything else to do today,” Virgil said with a shrug, walking out of the garage and through the door. Immediately, Logan’s temperature receptors alerted him to the fact that it was warmer in the main part of the house, which in turn alerted him to the fact that it had been much colder in the garage.

 _“Th- tha- thank you, sir. Your generosity will not go unnoticed,”_ Logan assured the human, holding his damaged hand in his lap as he got into a better position on Virgil’s palm. _“If it is alright, I will have to go into ‘sleep’ m- m- mode, in order to access m- my secondary memory.”_

“So, you’re gonna take a nap?” Virgil questioned, a small smirk on his face. Before Logan could answer the question, the human chuckled, jostling the Android. “Yeah, whatever. Have a good nap, weirdo- I might take one, too.”

Something about going into sleep mode around a human that was previously moments away from resetting his system entirely made the Android slightly hesitant to go through with the protocol. Logically, though, there was nothing in the way of Virgil doing it now, except for guilt, perhaps. 

When Logan was finally put down onto the coffee table, he glanced up at Virgil, doing some internal calculations. The likelihood that he would be reset during his ‘sleep mode’ was approximately… _38.62%._

Despite the fact that Logan wasn’t comfortable with those odds, he laid down and closed his eyes. Before long, his vision went completely white, and he started accessing his secondary memory.

**[Sleep Mode— Active]**

**[Optics— Deactive]**

**[System Processing…]**

**[Accessing Secondary Memory…]**

Virgil glanced down at the Android with a small frown, almost wrinkling his nose. It was… cute enough, he supposed, but it was still a glorified calculator. 

He knew that it- that _Logan_ \- was supposed to be useful in some way, but he honestly didn’t know how that was possible. Androids were made for simple labor, to his knowledge, so having one that literally fit into the palm of his hand was _weird_. They were supposed to do chores, but Logan would likely have difficulty washing a single dish.

“You don’t make any goddamn sense, you know,” Virgil muttered, resting his chin on his hand as he looked down at Logan’s ‘resting’ form. “You’re like a decoration… Maybe that’s it. You’re decorative. Like a weird, alive version of a doll.”

The words felt sour on his tongue, and he grimaced. After a moment, he laid back on the couch, and pulled out his phone.

**‘what do you use tiny androids for?’**

Immediately, the search results loaded, but Virgil found that it wasn’t quite what he was looking for. He sighed as he scrolled through a long list of advertisements for tiny androids, finally wrinkling his nose as he adjusted his search.

**‘pocket android review’**

Now that did it. Virgil was finally met with a long list of blog posts and think-pieces, all reviewing different models of pocket androids. He looked through the results for a minute before clicking on one.

 _Top Ten Reasons to Buy a Pocket Android,_ huh _?_

The image at the top of the article depicted a tiny android at a grocery store checkout aisle. The first few reasons were the exact ones that Logan, himself, had listed: Faster search results, quick calculations, and financial management. Overall, nothing that an ordinary smartphone couldn’t achieve.

As Virgil continued to scroll, the provided benefits gradually became more convincing.

The article cited a study in which the presence of pocket androids improved quality of life for people with anxiety and similar conditions, without adding the responsibility of feeding or taking care of a therapy animal. The cost-benefit analysis was in favor of androids as therapy tools, too, considering how much cheaper maintenance was for androids, compared to feeding and regular vet visits for an animal.

Virgil snorted as he read one part of the study, which referred to tiny androids as, ‘ _travel sized, personal cheerleaders_.’ He really couldn’t help but imagine Logan unenthusiastically waving a pair of pom-poms, cheering him on as he made a phone call or something.

Still, though, it was a convincing study, and Virgil wondered what it would be like to get his _own_ pocket android. Perhaps once he returned Logan, he’d be able to use that reward money to buy one… The idea had merit, but he didn’t exactly have much experience with the tiny robots- aside from Logan.

His gaze slowly shifted to the tiny robot laying on his coffee table. This Thomas person probably wouldn’t mind if he used his time with Logan as a free trial, right..?

Virgil put his phone aside and reached out, carefully nudging Logan up into the palm of his hand. He let out a quiet hum, holding Logan closer to himself as he considered the weight of the Android. He was heavier than Virgil had initially predicted, and it was oddly satisfying to feel. He wondered if it was creepy, holding Logan like this, but finally took a moment to consider that thought.

Logan wasn’t a real _person_ , he was just an imitation of one. Plastic, metal, and wires, all shaped into something resembling a person, without the real emotions or feelings. He was a computer at best, a gadget at worst.

He knew that all to be true, so why did it make his stomach twist up uncomfortably?

Virgil shook off the thoughts, and just focused on what he’d been doing. He was careful to be gentle as he moved Logan around in his hands, absentmindedly lifting up the robot’s tiny limbs to get a feel for their weight. His thumb brushed against the mess of dark curls atop the Android’s head, and his eyes widened- it was _soft_.

He continued turning the android over between his fingers, careful not to put too much stress on any specific area, especially the damaged parts. The feeling of Logan’s synthetic skin was strange- he wasn’t warm enough to feel _alive_ , but he wasn’t cold. Just… room temperature, he supposed.

“Fuck, that’s weird,” Virgil mumbled, gently moving his index finger down Logan’s undamaged arm. The sensation was novel, and he found himself thinking more about getting a pocket android for himself. “Sucks that you guys cost so much, though…”

He got comfortable on the couch, content to lay down and close his eyes as he gently poked and prodded at the Android. He ran the pads of his fingers along Logan’s arms, finally gently pinching the robot’s undamaged hand. Just the tip of his finger took up Logan’s _entire_ palm…

But his favorite thing, by far, was Logan’s hair. The mess of dark curls was soft and easy to play with, and he did so with great satisfaction. His right hand curled around the robot’s body, holding him loosely, while his left was busy playing with Logan’s hair. A few minutes drifted by, and Virgil relaxed as his mind grew foggy with drowsiness. A quick nap wouldn’t hurt anyone…

After almost fifteen minutes, a startup sequence returned Logan to the waking world with a soft _ding_! He blinked twice to refocus his optics, squinting slightly as he looked around. His senses came back to him slowly, and he blinked once more, abruptly realizing that he wasn’t on the table anymore. He went stiff, his vocal cords reconfiguring as he searched for the correct words. _“V- V- Virgil…? Why- why are you-?”_

The human’s index finger slid up from his chest and clumsily felt around, finally covering up his mouth with a muffled, “ _Mmph_!” from the android. Before Logan could process what had just happened, along with the strange noise of surprise that he’d accidentally let out, Virgil chuckled. “Got bored, and you’re kind of cool. Easy to mess with, at least.”

Logan let out a few rude words, though they were muffled by Virgil’s finger. When the man finally moved it, the android gave him a glare, and said sarcastically, _“W- Well, not that it isn’t an absolute p- p- pleasure to amuse you, but we have more important things to do. I have located the address-”_

“Slow down, tin can,” Virgil grumbled, cracking open an eye. He gently ruffled Logan’s hair, saying lazily, “We have time, man. Your owner or whatever will still be there in the morning.”

 _“There is no ‘w- w- whatever,’ he is just my… oh, you’re not serious,”_ Logan realized, blinking. He didn’t like how easily Virgil confused him- or how the man seemed to _enjoy_ doing it. _“Regardless, I would like to be put back on the coffee table, please.”_

“Hmmm… nah, I’m good,” Virgil said, and Logan couldn’t help but note that he sounded almost _smug_. Then, the human was back to petting his hair, and he rolled his eyes. “Besides, this isn’t really _that_ bad, is it?”

The Android’s first impulse was to argue that _yes_ , it _was_ that bad, but his program gave him pause- he wasn’t supposed to lie to humans, though it was allowed in the name of self-preservation. The words died on his tongue as he realized that it _would_ have been a lie, and he took a moment to think about Virgil’s question.

He looked down at the hand that encircled his body, and noted that it was reminiscent of how he’d been held in the past. Virgil’s grip wasn’t constricting or uncomfortable, and his internal temperature was a bit warm, but not uncomfortably so. It was strikingly similar to his owner’s hold, actually.

Overall… Logan didn’t hate it. He didn’t even _dislike_ it. He allowed his body to relax in Virgil’s grip, and said quietly, _“I- I suppose… that this could be worse.”_


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logan and Virgil leave, and go to find Logan's owner.

After a few minutes of scrolling through Tumblr, Virgil finally fell asleep on the couch, his hands loosely curled around Logan. With nothing to do and no way down, Logan rolled his eyes grumpily and started his sleep mode sequence, wondering if Virgil was playing some kind of strange trick on him…

Despite the fact that he was sleeping on a couch, Virgil slept soundly through the night, and well into the next afternoon.

Virgil wrinkled his nose as sunlight came flooding in through the front window, and groggily opened his eyes. He pushed himself up onto his elbows, suddenly noticing that Logan had tumbled from his hands, and was sprawled across his lap. Miraculously, the android was still in ‘sleep’ mode, so Virgil carefully pinched the back of his tiny jacket, lifting him up in front of his face.

“Loooogan,” he half whispered, his small smirk growing to a shit-eating grin as the android finally twitched slightly. As soon as Logan opened his eyes, Virgil blew a puff of air into his face, causing the android to let out an indignant yelp as he was startled into full consciousness. “Morning, Tin Can!” 

Logan bit back a few choice words, crossing his arms with a huff. He didn’t appreciate the rude wake-up call, and he gave the human a glare. “ _It is o- o- one thirty-five pm, not m- morning. Ideally, we would have left a long time ago, but you just h- h- had to sleep in-”_

“Yeah, yeah, cool it, Robocop, it’s not illegal to sleep in my own house. Just… what was the address again?” Virgil yawned as he put the robot down onto the coffee table again, rubbing his eyes.

“ _648 Barnes Boulevard_ ,” Logan recited eagerly as the human stretched, putting on his hoodie much earlier than he’d normally like to, on a Saturday. 

He typed the address into his phone, noting the short distance. While that was technically a good thing, he still noted that it would mean less time in his ‘free trial’ of a pocket android… “Look, I know you’re set on your whole ‘prime directive’ and all, but I’m not going anywhere without coffee, so c'mere.” 

Virgil scooped Logan up into one hand, wrapping his fingers around the android as he padded into the kitchen. He gently deposited Logan onto the counter, and turned to dump a few spoonfuls of coffee grinds into the machine, yawning quietly. 

Logan brushed himself off, frowning, and waited for the human. He watched impatiently, tapping his foot as he resisted the urge to pace around the countertop.

After what seemed like a decade, coffee finally started pouring into the coffee pot.

“ _Perhaps you c- c- could use a thermos to drink it on the way,_ ” he suggested, and even with his glitching voice, it was clear that he was impatient. “ _For the sake of c- c- convenience, of course.”_

Virgil gave a noncommittal hum, but obligingly grabbed a tumbler from the cabinet. After filling it to the brim with coffee, he took a long, deliberately slow sip, and sighed contentedly. “Okay, _now_ we can go.” 

Logan let his defensive posture melt away, and briefly allowed a small smile to tug at the corners of his lips. Finally, he would get to go _home_ … 

“It’s not far and I don’t feel like getting stuck in weekend traffic, so we’re gonna walk. That cool with you?” Virgil asked with a raised brow, setting his coffee aside to put on his shoes. 

Logan nodded absently, processors practically humming with everything that needed to be done as soon as he returned to Thomas. Appointments to be scheduled, medications to be counted… He hoped that the man hadn’t accidentally skipped a medication, or lost his keys, or something equally terrible. “ _Of course, that’s fine. Thank you, Virgil.”_

“How am I gonna do this…?” Virgil mumbled overhead, and Logan looked up curiously. 

He raised a brow, asking shakily, _“D- do what?_ ”

“You know, carry you? I need my phone for the directions and my other hand for coffee…” 

Logan furrowed his brow, pondering a solution. Finally, he offered, “ _I could give you the ins-instructions for the fastest route, if y- yo- you’d like-”_

“Yeah, no way. You can hardly get a full sentence out, and you think I’m going to trust you with directions?” The human smirked, ruffling the android’s hair. “Sorry, bud, but it’s pocket time.” 

Logan immediately shook his head, letting out a noise of disagreement. “ _The m- moniker ‘pocket android’ refers to size, not appropriate forms of- mmph!”_

Logan’s protests were cut off as he was stuffed into Virgil’s hoodie pocket, the human now focused on his walk rather than the tiny android in his pocket. 

Out of all the ways Logan had been carried, a pocket was the most uncomfortable, not to mention demeaning. The fabric bunched around him, making the android overheat slightly, and no matter how hard he tried, he just _couldn’t get comfortable_. He huffed to himself quietly, settling down to endure the terrible ride so he could be at his human’s home as soon as possible. 

Meanwhile, Virgil whistled merrily to himself as he walked, taking his sweet time as he walked down the sidewalk. He sipped absentmindedly at his coffee, noting the yellowing leaves on the trees with a smile. “You know,” he said, “I never realized how great the walk is. We can take our time, right?”

Logan huffed quietly, and resisted the urge to elbow the human. He doubted that it would do much good, aside from providing catharsis. He called out, _“It w- would be delaying the inevitable, but I s- suppose that you could… It would really be preferred if you hurry, though.”_

Virgil had to strain to hear Logan, but he wrinkled his nose as he heard what the android was saying. He suddenly had an idea, and grinned, carefully putting his phone on top of his thermos lid. With that, he carefully pulled Logan out of the pocket and situated the android onto his shoulder, near the hood of his jacket.

“There! Now I can hear you, and we can really stop to smell the roses together!” Virgil teased, cheekily ruffling Logan’s hair with a finger.

The android went still at the change in positions, only relaxing when Virgil’s hand went back to his phone and coffee. _“Y- you couldn’t have thought of this_ before _you sh- shoved me into your pocket??”_

“I mean, I _could_ have, but that’s not as much fun, is it?” Virgil asked teasingly, a small smirk on his face.

Logan rolled his eyes, ignoring the annoyance coming from his processor. He leaned against Virgil’s neck, watching the world go by. 

The walk was quiet, for the most part, though on the occasion, Virgil supplemented the experience with short stories- Logan found that his favorite was the story of the weird rumor about the local pizza store’s owner.

“-anyways, we’re pretty sure that it was him, but like… you never know, right? Can’t prove it,” Virgil said with a snort, turning his head to address the android. 

“… _that is both deeply troubling and vastly entertaining, somehow,”_ Logan said slowly, no small amount of surprise to his tone. “ _It was p- p- pointless, of course, but still…”_

“That’s the beauty of small town living, metal man,” Virgil said, resisting the urge to shrug. The android was surprisingly good company, and he found himself enjoying their time together. He glanced down to his phone as they entered a residential area, and announced, “Okay, it’s just around the next corner!”

Logan brightened, straining slightly to see the phone. As soon as he did, a smile tugged at his lips, and he said contentedly, “ _Excellent, this shall be ideal… It will be good to see him again.”_

“You can say that you’re excited to see him again, you know,” Virgil teased, tucking his phone into his pocket. He didn’t move the android from his perch on his shoulder, though- he wouldn’t dare to stifle Logan’s genuine anticipation. “Thomas, right?”

Logan smiled sadly, immediately nodding. “ _Y- yes, his name is Thomas, and considering that I have no emotions, I would not say that I am excited, though I am sure that it may seem that way. It is just imp- important to get back to my schedule.”_

“Uh-huh, your schedule,” Virgil said, rolling his eyes. He blinked as he saw a sign in the grass near the sidewalk, and read it closely. 

_‘Estate Sale, Next Left.’_

He wondered who had died, but figured that it must have been a neighbor or something. “So, what’s so cool about this guy? Did he buy you when you were just a lil’ baby calculator?”

 _“You know that we d- do not age like… oh, you were using ‘humor’ again,”_ Logan said, the pieces falling into place faster. _“Well, Thomas bought me second-hand, after I had been reset, and helped fix me. Since he was becoming more forgetful, he needed help with daily tasks, which is why he got me. He has been a very kind owner, and he considers me to be something like a friend. I… would consider him one, as well, I suppose.”_

For once, Virgil didn’t have a snarky reply. He just smiled and said, “Well, I’m excited to meet him- he sounds like a pretty cool guy.”

“ _H- he is, yes_ ,” Logan agreed quietly, a small, fond smile tugging at his lips. “ _The coolest_ …”

They continued walking down the block, and Virgil finally turned the corner. He glanced down at the GPS, checking the address again. “Let’s see here… 644, 646…”

“ _648_ ,” Logan said, but the excitement wasn’t present in his voice. He was staring up at his home, his face blank.

There were a few cars in the driveway, but none were models that he recognized… People, _strangers_ , milled about his home, chattering mindlessly, and on the overgrown lawn, there was a white sign- in dark letters, it read, _**‘** Estate Sale’._

For a moment, time was frozen. An estate sale, that couldn't be right- nobody had died! That wasn't possible, that couldn't be-

“ _I... I don't- n_ _\- n- no, where… V- Virgil! Where is he?!_ ” Logan asked, his eyes wide. He stood up, scanning the situation desperately as his voicebox glitched. _“V- Virgil!”_

Virgil looked out over the house, his heart in his throat. He reluctantly reached up to wrap a hand around Logan, trying to be gentle. “Logan, just- please, be quiet… He’s not- I’m so sorry…”

The android fought against Virgil’s hand, red alarms flooding his vision. He wasn’t stable, his systems were straining- “ _VIRGIL, LET M- ME GO! I NEED T- T- t- to find Thomas, p- ple- please, let me- le̹̚ẗ̥ ̮͐m͇̯͐̂e ͉͉̻̌̃͞go̼̰͊̓,̡̟͖̿͌̈́ ̻̝̥̎͊́p̯̯̣̹̬̓̓̓̃̕l̨̳̝̩͈̿̑̉͡͠e͇̼̼͍̜͊͌̐͝͠a̰͚̻̰͒̇̋̐͟͡s̮͎̖̩̠̐̏̅͊̍ë̬̘̪̬̼̎͊̚͠…̧͍̫̙͂́͆̉͟͝”̜̻͙̩̺̍͋̂̋̐_

His begging devolved into quiet sobs as Virgil turned around, carrying the android away from the dead man's home.


End file.
